Relaxing Into Oneness

photo credit: Aaron Springston

I often remind myself that if I have a choice of being right or being kind, I’d rather be kind. That's not to say I always am, but I sure do want to be! Another choice I try to make is peace over specialness. I’m sure I’ve gladly proclaimed to others about my pain, my divorce, my cold, my sciatica, my low bank account — you get the picture! It’s much nicer to look past MY specialness, watching and praying for guidance from divine Mind which is everywhere, allowing feelings to flow with the Love which is eternal, and to live with the excitement of Spirit lifting daily activity to the miraculous adventure it can be when I stop dictating reality. Gratitude and appreciation is a peaceful, easy feeling. Today I want to choose the harmony of unity, releasing separation as I relax into our Oneness!

"Let us rid ourselves of the belief that man is separated from God, and obey only the divine Principle, Life and Love. Here is the great point of departure for all true spiritual growth." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 91:5-8

Just Love

photo credit: Aaron Springston

Today's simple hope is that everyone will love each other. Whether it's your child, spouse, friends, or strangers, just love them. A rather well-known seer once advised us that it's easy to love those who love you, but to love your enemies, to bless those who persecute you, that is the difficult task. In an age when almost everyone seems determined to make someone an enemy, this is particularly good advice. A dear friend told a story about herself in which she was terse with a loved one over a small act which made no difference in the scheme of life. During these days of high emotions and hateful rhetorical speech, it's easy to become ensnared in the collective turmoil. So let's be aware that we may not be feeling our own emotions, but those being sold to us by people who will benefit from our angst and division. Whatever the case, just love. It's not easy to understand each other under the best of circumstances, but with a pandemic and political unrest afoot, it can seem almost impossible. But it is not. Sometimes we may falter, but forgive yourself and begin again. We always get a second chance to be kind...

"If a career so great and good as that of Jesus could not avert a felon's fate, lesser apostles of Truth may endure human brutality without murmuring, rejoicing to enter into fellowship with him through the triumphal arch of Truth and Love." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 40:19

Rat Wins Award for Animal Bravery

photo credit: Richard Quick

I’ve often mentioned the book, “Kinship With All Life” by J. Allen Boone. Its principles are dear to my heart and, I feel, pertinent in our daily lives. A story has recently come to us about a rat in Cambodia. Rats have often gotten a bad rap, as they are thought of as dirty and creepy, yet those who live with them report something entirely different. They are reportedly smart and affectionate, almost as easily trained as dogs. Recently a little rat named Magawa has won a British charity’s award for animal bravery. For the past seven years, he has been finding unexploded bombs in Cambodia. These land mines are a serious problem in 59 countries, with more than 7,000 deaths occurring in 2018 because of people stepping on them. The award this rat received has only gone to dogs in the past, but a rat can safely discover more mines because he is light enough to not set them off when sniffing them out. So here’s to new ways of doing things, and a big shout out to Magawa and the Belgiums who trained him for this most important mission!

"All of God's creatures, moving in the harmony of Science, are harmless, useful, indestructible. A realization of this grand verity was a source of strength in the ancient worthies." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 514:29

Changing Responses

photo credit: Aaron Springston

All the insecurities, the feelings of loss and lack, the guilt and blame, all these things are losing their reality to us as we begin to understand there is no reason to hold on to them. Now that we see the unreality of these beliefs within ourselves, it's hard not pointing them out to others when they present themselves! But I am trying to change my response when presented with negativity, fear, anger, and hate. After a snide racial comment from a terse-lipped woman, I said, "Keep smiling!" Upon which she gave me a fake smile, and I gave her a small Namastè bow and left. When someone asked my advice about their unhappiness, (knowing through experience that none of us can fix any other of us) my only suggestion was to concentrate on what brings joy and fulfillment, and the unhappiness and emptiness will be lost in its face. We live what we've learned, giving to others from our receiving. I trust today will bring opportunities to practice this art.

“We are all sculptors, working at various forms, moulding and chiseling thought. What is the model before mortal mind? Is it imperfection, joy, sorrow, sin, suffering? Have you accepted the mortal model? Are you reproducing it? Then you are haunted in your work by vicious sculptors and hideous forms...To remedy this, we must first turn our gaze in the right direction, and then walk that way. We must form perfect models in thought and look at them continually, or we shall never carve them out in grand and noble lives.” Science & Health Page 248:12

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

photo credit: Aaron Springston

In this time of great change, it’s easy to long for the comfort of ritualistic actions and old habits. How nice it would be if we simply floated along, happily enjoying yesterday’s fruits. But life doesn’t seem to be that way. We wake up every morning and experience things in different ways. Changing thoughts bring on changing circumstances. I hope we can all hold onto each other and know that this is a good thing. Personally, I have no idea what tomorrow will bring, but I relish the possibilities!

“The image of Spirit cannot be effaced, since it is the idea of Truth and changes not, but becomes more beautifully apparent at error’s demise.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 542:5-7     

New Beginnings?

 photo credit: Aaron Springston

Don't we all love new beginnings? Every symbolic new beginning we experience gives hope that there truly will be one this time. We yearn for peace and plenty, purity of heart and environment, joy, satisfaction. Sometimes we catch glimpses of what it could be like. I felt a big shift on New Year's Eve in the year 2000. There was a palpable expectation of change, and now, two decades later, I feel it is upon us. A true new beginning is at hand -- your hand and mine, today, right now. Let’s not be distracted by ego-based taunting to play the game being enacted all around us. I will look through the temptation to stay stuck in this muddle of material belief by giving energy to the lower propensities. Raising thought above what cries out so loudly for attention, I'll see the beginning in every situation. If there is no end, can there be a beginning? Ah -- ever-flowing forever. Now!

“The infinite has no beginning. This word beginning is employed to signify the only, — that is, the eternal verity and unity of God and man, including the universe.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 502:24-27

The Origins of Our Discontents

 I'm reading this book by Isabel Wilkerson. We have learned prejudice throughout the years. Here are a couple of quotes from this enlightening book. Have a beautiful Sunday. Know thyself!

“In our era, it is not enough to be tolerant. You tolerate mosquitoes in the summer, a rattle in an engine, the gray slush that collects at the crosswalk in winter. You tolerate what you would rather not have to deal with and wish would go away. It is no honor to be tolerated. Every spiritual tradition says love your neighbor as yourself, not tolerate them.”

“Throughout human history, three caste systems have stood out. The tragically accelerated, chilling, and officially vanquished caste system of Nazi Germany. The lingering, millennia-long caste system of India. And the shape-shifting, unspoken, race-based caste pyramid in the United States. Each version relied on stigmatizing those deemed inferior to justify the dehumanization necessary to keep the lowest-ranked people at the bottom and to rationalize the protocols of enforcement. A caste system endures because it is often justified as divine will, originating from sacred text or the presumed laws of nature, reinforced throughout the culture and passed down through the generations.”

A New Earth

 Before I started this daily, I looked at Facebook. A woman had asked a question earlier in the day and I had responded in part that I saw this as an opportunity to create a new way of living. She asked specifically what I meant by that, and I quickly responded. As I proofread it, I realized I couldn't write anything I like more this evening, so here it is. :) 

Mongolia - photo credit: Aaron Springston 

I see a world built on honesty in every endeavor. All liars will be uncovered and replaced with honorable human beings who value lives more than cash. Schools will teach children to love learning, rather than to spit out rhetoric. Religious institutions will be there to help those in need, finding ways to supply their material needs while feeding their spirit. We will be allowed to know what Spirit is, rather than simply repeating religious belief which manipulates and punishes. We'll know about the good in ourselves as well as our neighbors and love ourselves more as a result. We then see the value in making art -- music painting, creativity of all kinds -- and understanding how those practices allow us to be whole, rather than automatons which spit out facts and figures. I see a world where we can trust ourselves enough to stand up for what is right and just for all, not just those in our tribe. Let's build back a world where all its resources are kept intact and nurtured, using the things which never run out, realizing the sun shines on us all equally, and is here for our supply. We will know the value of every living creature, realizing that the loss of one leaves a hole in the music of the earth. We will be proud of knowledge, science, learning of any and all sorts. We will see that we can understand God, because we are Its reflection and that source lies within us. Whew! Thanks for asking!

"St. John's corporeal sense of the heavens and earth had vanished, and in place of this false sense was the spiritual sense, the subjective state by which he could see the new heaven and new earth, which involve the spiritual idea and consciousness of reality." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 573:19

The Hope Flag Project

Eureka Springs has a wonderful project happening right now! A Hope Flag Project, sponsored by our community center and the Eureka Springs School of the Arts. There are detailed instructions on either of their websites, but basically you can pick up small, hangable blank flags and decorate them with messages of hope and love. I think this is just what we need, don't you? Four years ago, eight years ago, we were filled with hope before our elections. It's been difficult to find any this year, but we each individually are filled with love and are searching for hope in every nook and cranny of our existence. So let's make our own, with flags, with letters, and with our actions. Write letters to the editor, make positive social media posts, call your friends and tell them good news, cook dinner for your neighbor, send a note to an old friend. Today's message from me can fall under the category of "don't let the bastards get you down"! There are lifeboats of goodness waiting for us, but we must recognize them and reach for them. Help your friends if they're caught up in the downward tide. Give them something to hold onto, no matter how small it may seem. Together these messages are powerful. Together we can do it...

"Man walks in the direction towards which he looks, and where his treasure is, there will his heart be also. If our hopes and affections are spiritual, they come from above, not from beneath, and they bear as of old the fruits of the Spirit." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 451:14

All Things Born to Break

 My neighbor sent a video for me to watch, only saying “watch closely”. I did that three times and took away more insights into its beauty every time I watched it. I give you the gift she gave me, a link to this amazing piece of art. Have a beautiful day!

https://youtu.be/n0zqQxz4DHs

ALL THINGS BORN TO BREAK

Hafez

All things born to break
In meek sacrifice
For another’s sake,

All man’s striving vain,
Lavish’d as the price
Of the heart’s hid pain—

Long, O spirit-bird,
Of thy lonely fear
Hast thou sung unheard

In hope’s moon-lit wood,
While no creature near
Knew nor understood.

Don't Waste a Good Crisis

St. Patrick's Day in Eureka Springs - PC: Richard Quick

As we go through the day, words and actions we witness make an impact on us. Today I heard Miten, Deva Premal’s husband, say this is the time for compassion, creativity, devotion to positive change. He advised us to not “waste a good crisis”! I love that, don’t you? Crises seem to be the impetus which force us to a better place than where we were. I could name numerous times in my personal life when I was urged upward and onward through sadness and fearful circumstances. And the second thing which struck me today was reading about a woman in Philadelphia who lived near where the strangely-named proud boys were going to have a rally. The people of the area got together and had a fun fair in the park where the men planned to gather. There was music, games, happy clowns, balloons, children, animals — beautiful, joyous people were everywhere doing what happy people do! The gun-toting men who showed up seemed confused and wandered around briefly before leaving. Let’s do that today and everyday, when we meet any sort of derision. We need not be afraid when bringing Love to the table, no matter what the event!

"Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach you. The cement of a higher humanity will unite all interests in the one divinity." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health page 571:18

Most Of Us Are Kind and Helpful

Suzie Bell fixing her neighbor's roof

Growing up, I don't remember being around people who held themselves above everyone else; people who thought the world revolved around them and had no consideration for others. Maybe it's faulty memory, but it seems as though everyone was considerate of other people. Maybe that's only because my parents were kind and helpful. Everyone who lives on my street is kind and helpful. Everyone I know well is, also. These things cause me to truly believe that most of the world's population lives by the "golden rule", to treat others the way you want to be treated. Yet we hear of just the opposite, constantly, from media of various sorts. In our circle of friends, there are those who save dogs and cats, provide free medical treatment for those in need, and work tirelessly for causes which improve the world and its living creatures. We are energy, and that energy can be described in many ways, but my favorite is Love. God is Love, and we are that reflection. Anything other than that truth is an illusion created by lost children. We can help them return to Love by bombarding them with it, no matter what.

"The serpent of God's creating is neither subtle nor poisonous, but is a wise idea, charming in its adroitness, for Love's ideas are subject to the Mind which forms them, -- the power which changeth the serpent into a staff." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 515:6

Heroes, Then and Now

Who are your heroes? After watching the movie Hidden Figures, which tells how three women were integral in getting the United States space program off the ground, my heroes are every woman who has continued to do her best in the presence of ugly racism. This movie helped me to realize the depth of prejudice and the senselessness of racism and sexism. Every time this understanding reaches a deeper level within me, it becomes more difficult to understand its origins. How did we become a society which looks down on someone because of their skin color, gender, or social standing? Social standing, what the heck does that even mean? I look forward to the day we see people for who they are, appreciating qualities such as kindness, intelligence, integrity, morality, creativity, and such. And my heroes today, specifically, are the women who are running for political office, speaking truth to lies, showing us what kindness and integrity mean through their actions, those who walk the talk. Suzie Bell comes to mind first and foremost. Saying these words remind me of other heroes I see every day. I think I'll write them notes telling them so, because they probably don't know how valued they are!

"Ignorance, pride, or prejudice closes the door to whatever is not stereotyped." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 144:25

Birth of a New-Old Idea

Arches National Park - PC: Aaron Springston

Change is everywhere. Some of us do not care for the changes we are making, while others are seeing more efficient ways of doing things they always took for granted. The avenues we've become accustomed to strolling are sometimes closed, causing us to turn disappointedly down new paths. I love seeing disappointment turn into joy when a new talent is discovered. Perhaps someone you know has the freedom now to explore ways of life they had only dreamed about prior to this major shift in our lives. Speaking of dreams, is anyone else having vivid, lucid dreams? I look forward to going to sleep every night to see what new ideas I'll wake up to! My friend, Carol Peacock, posted a great idea to Facebook today. For Halloween, the kids (and adults!) can dress up and hang out in their yards, while we drive by and toss candy to them! I love this new/old way of thinking, don't you? Before we thought we knew everything, we were always dreaming of new and better ways to express ourselves. I'm watching a huge orange harvest moon show itself right now, wondering that something so familiar can seem so exciting and brilliant. You and I are like that, too. Shift our thoughts just a bit, look at a friend in a new light, be willing to watch and wait...

"As a material, theoretical life-basis is found to be a misapprehension of existence, the spiritual and divine Principle of man dawns upon human thought, and leads it to 'where the young child was,' -- even to the birth of a new-old idea, to the spiritual sense of being and of what Life includes. Thus the whole earth will be transformed by Truth on its pinions of light, chasing away the darkness of error." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 191:8

Namaste, Mr. Trump...

Colorado Fall - photo credit: Aaron Springston

Today someone said to me that she felt as though we are living through a Shakespearean play. I replied that I did, too, with added elements of many dystopian science fictions books. Our president is now in the hospital with the virus which is sweeping the world. Throughout the past years, I have come to expect hyperbole and fibs to flow from this man’s mouth, and so my first reaction upon hearing he had tested positive was that he is probably faking symptoms in order to avoid prosecution for the multitude of crimes which are coming to light faster now than ever before. My first reaction was not sympathy, as it would be for anyone else, and for that, I am sorry. It feels like a failure on my part that I have reacted this way. When I stop to think about that, I could name any number of reasons why I am not sorry for my lack of compassion, but it doesn’t really matter. I am judging another human being who has been crying out for love his entire life. It’s not my job to try to change him, but it is my job to give him the love he thinks he does not have. Unbeknownst to him, he’s always had this divine Love which permeates eternity, surpassing the limited love we feel in this third dimension. There is much to be corrected within myself, and this writing is the beginning of my work toward that end. Namaste, Mr. Trump...

"The wrong done another reacts most heavily against one's self. Right adjusts the balance sooner or later." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 449:7

The World Will Change Because We Are Changing

Marianne Williamson is now writing a column for Newsweek. I draw strength from her words.

"These are such diseased and disastrous times, it’s a challenge to keep the toxicity of the world from poisoning our bodies and souls. It’s a difficult task to bear brutally honest witness to the dangers of this time without being personally infected by them. From meditating to yoga to eating well to reading more - and more than anything else, to thinking deeply about what the world is going through and trying to see how best we might help - all of us are navigating our individual boats through the turbulent waters of a societal storm. There is an invisible captain, a wind at our back, a map that leads us to calmer waters if we are silent and still enough to perceive them. Inner activism is done in silence. Our capacity for stillness is as important now as is our capacity for movement. This is the alchemy of personal and societal transformation that will bear amazing fruit a bit of time from now. The world will change because we are changing. This is the winter of our collective agony, but if we dwell within it with grace and power we will one day see a miraculous spring. Faith and patience and hope and love are the angels that light our way." Marianne

"Never fear the mental malpractitioner, the mental assassin, who, in attempting to rule mankind, tramples upon the divine Principle of metaphysic, for God is the only power." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 419:25

You Can't Bully a Wave

 

South Africa - PC: Heather Peters

“Have you ever tried to bully a wave in the ocean?” This is the question a 104-year-old Buddhist nun asks her great-granddaughter in a beautiful novel titled, A Tale For the Time Being, by Ruth Ozeki. The two went into a store to get food for a picnic on the beach. A group of gangster girls were hanging around outside the store and harassed them as they went in. When they came out, the old woman bowed deeply to the group of young women before walking away. After they got onto the train to go to their destination, the older woman wondered aloud if it was a holiday of some sort, mentioning that the girls were all dressed so brightly and seemed so happy. The granddaughter tried to explain that they were gang colors, and that they were being derisive in their words and laughter. The grandmother didn’t see it that way and asked her young charge if she had ever tried to bully a wave, explaining that no matter how much you hit at it or yell into it, it stays what it is. That is its function, and that is our function as well -- to stay what we are. I love that!


“Can we gather peaches from a pine-tree, or learn from discord the concord of being? Yet quite as rational are some of the leading illusions along the path which Science must tread in its reformatory mission among mortals. The very name, illusion, points to nothingness.”  Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 129:24

The Muddy River Bed is Indeed Stirred

 

judyclementwall.com

Every time I feel hopeless and completely demoralized by our country and its leaders, J Clement Wall comes through with a piece of art which lifts me above it, gives me hope, and brings a tear of release. She shows me time and again the priceless gift our artists present to us: hope in its purest form. Thank you, wonderful Woman! And thank you each and every person who is working to support political candidates who represent integrity and truth. Let freedom ring!

"The muddy river bed must be stirred in order to purify the stream. In moral chemicalization, when the symptoms of evil, illusion, are aggravated, we may think in our ignorance that the Lord hath wrought an evil, but we ought to know that God's law uncovers so-called sin and its effects, only that Truth may annihilate all sense of evil and all power to sin." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 540:9

Integrity

 

Fraser, Co - photo credit: Aaron Springston

When did you last tell a lie? We may tell “polite” lies, designed to not hurt our loved ones feelings, or perhaps commit the indiscretion which we refer to as white lies. But what about a lie told to benefit yourself, without care of who it hurts or what harm it causes? And what of cheating? Maybe you moved your Monopoly piece too many squares during family game night, but how about taking goods and services from people and refusing to pay for them, or maybe outright taking a possession from someone? I don’t know many, if any, people who do this. Everyone I interact with has a higher sense of integrity and a moral standard which precludes such actions. Actually, most people I know would never consider lying or stealing or cheating, be it a small indiscretion or a major event. It always comes as a surprise to me when I witness blatant misconduct in public officials, movie stars, ministers — anyone, anywhere. I remind myself constantly that everything is either expressing Love or calling out for love. And so I shall not look the other way, and I will do my best to answer that call. Namaste...

"Take away wealth, fame, and social organizations, which weigh not one jot in the balance of God, and we get clearer views of Principle. Break up cliques, level wealth with honesty, let worth be judged according to wisdom, and we get better views of humanity." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 239:5

Am I Being Manipulated?

 

Mongolia - photo credit: Aaron Springston

Most of us acknowledge that some prescription drugs cause adverse reactions, perhaps rendering us out of control and sleep-driving or eating. We know this and have a choice in whether or not to reap the meager benefits anyway. But what if we were told that our favorite food causes us to believe things which simply are not true, or made us buy things, or think the earth was flat? Would we stop eating it, or would we say, "Oh, I know when I'm being manipulated and I can eat chocolate and still think independently."? There is a new documentary out called "The Social Dilemma" and it tells us in detail how we are being manipulated by Facebook, in particular. This platform is the reason many people have become flat earthers, believing the world is flat and there is a great ice wall at the perimeter and you will be put into jail if you get there. Others believe in pizzagate and think there is a network of well-known people kidnapping children and performing horrendous atrocities. These are the extremes, but what of the influences which are much more subtle? I leave you with this quote from a review posted at Independent.co.uk, of this NetFlix documentary: "“It’s easy to think that it’s just a few stupid people who get convinced,” warns the engineer who created the rogue Youtube algorithm, “but the algorithm is getting smarter and smarter every day. Today they’re convincing people that the Earth is flat, but tomorrow they will be convincing you of something.” I'm not sure where I come down on this theory, but certainly will think seriously about it.

"As named in Christian Science, animal magnetism or hypnotism is the specific term for error, or mortal mind. It is the false belief that mind is in matter, and is both evil and good; that evil is as real as good and more powerful. This belief has not one quality of Truth. It is either ignorant or malicious. The malicious form of hypnotism ultimates in moral idiocy." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 103:18